After Dunedin Airport made global headlines, newsreaders are attempting to say its name - and not all of them are getting it right. Photo / @dunedinairport
After Dunedin Airport made global headlines, newsreaders are attempting to say its name - and not all of them are getting it right. Photo / @dunedinairport
Mispronouncing place names happens to the best of us, but when it happens on air it’s somehow extra funny. And extra cringe.
A quick Google on “commonly mispronounced place names in New Zealand” provides a selection of place names, such as Remuera, Taupō and Tauranga - likely mispronounced by localsjust as often as they are by tourists, knowingly or not.
South Island city Dunedin - whose name comes from the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh in Scotland, Dùn Èideann - is also no stranger to people getting its name very wrong. This time the faux pas is one rarely made by locals.
Earlier this week news anchor Marcia MacMillan, of CTV News, a Canadian network, reported on Dunedin Airport’s 3-minute viral hug rule, which it introduced to improve traffic flow around its terminal.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press opted to take the zero risks and took the words straight from the horse’s mouth with a video of Dunedin’s Airport chief executive Dan De Bono.
Dan De Bono told the Associated Press the announcement was about safety and creating more space for others.
“A three-minute hug ... that’s a long hug,” he said.
Like anything, you’re going to create a bit of debate but I don’t see this as inhumane at all. And actually, it’s really, really important that we are having a bit of fun with it.
“We don’t have hug police - not yet anyway,” De Bono added.
